The Mercedes Biome concept was the vehicle which Mercedes-Benz's
designers came up with for the 2010 Design Challenge held
by the LA Auto Show. The brief for the 2010 competition
was to design a car which weighed less than 1,000 lbs
(454 kgs), and could carry four people in safety and comfort.

The Mercedes Biome concept is an extremely futuristic
design which is not built, instead it is grown from a
seed. Here's Mercedes' fictional story which explains
how the Biome concept could be produced.

The Biome: The Mercedes-Benz Biome is an ultralight
vehicle that utilizes technologies from nature to achieve
unparalleled efficiency and seamless integration into
the ecosystem.

Mercedes-Benz Symbiosis: Mercedes-Benz Symbiosis
is a system in which the vehicle becomes part of the ecosystem
like the leaves of a tree. Symbiosis vehicles collect
energy from the sun and store it in chemical bonds, in
the form of a fluid called BioNectar4534. Mercedes has
also developed technology to retrofit trees with receptors
which can harvest their excess solar energy into BN4534.
This creates an incentive to plant more trees and collect
more energy, while also helping the ecosystem. The vehicle
can be composted after its lifespan is complete or used
as building material.

Partnership With Nature: The Symbiosis vehicle
forms a seamless part of the ecosystem through green technologies.
Most of the energy used to power the vehicles comes from
the sun. It is stored in a lightweight grown material
called BioFibre. It is much lighter than metal or synthetic
composites, but stronger than steel when mature. It is
grown in the Mercedes-Benz Nursery through proprietary
DNA. The customerís specific desires are genetically engineered
into the Star and the vehicle grows when this combines
with the Seed capsule.

Growth from Two Seeds: The interior of the Biome
grows from Mercedes-Benz DNA in the front star, when it
fuses with the seed. The exterior grows from the rear
star, creating the shape. The wheels are grown separately
from four unique seeds.